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C45 I P (NoModeL') I Q A. G. DAVIS.

' TELEPHONE BOX. No. 295,865. Patented Mar. 18, 1884.

Witnesses AZwrvwg s UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

AUGUSTUS G. DAVIS, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

TELEPHONE-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 295,365, dated March 18, 1884;,

' Application filed March 30, 1883. (No model.)

110 aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS G. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, llIaryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telephone-Boxes, of which the following is a specification, ref erence being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, in which- Figure 1 is a view of the box with the front removed, showing the bells, transmitter, telephone, battery, and generator. Fig. 2 is a central section of the box, showing the bells, battery, and mechanism for opening and closing the circuit. Fig. 3 is a view, on an enlarged scale, of the interior of the box on one side, (partly broken away,) showing the means for opening and closing the circuit; and Fig. 4 is a view of a portion of the outside of the box, partly in section.

Like letters of reference mark the same parts in all the figures.

My invention has relation to electric telephones, and has for its object to furnish a telephone which may be locked up when not in use, and in which the act of opening the door cuts out the bells and generator from circuit and completes a circuit to include the telephone and transmitter, and at the same time bring the batteryinto operation 5 and to these ends it consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of devices which will now be fully described, and then pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A is the box which incloses the transmitter B, telephone (l, generator D, battery E, and coils for operating the bells F, the position of said parts being indicated in Fig. 1. To this box is hinged, so as to inclose it, two doors, G H, both opening downward and outward, the up per door, G, being provided with a swinging leg, 9, pivoted in lugs attached thereto, and prevented from moving outward beyond a certain angle, so thatsaid leg will rest upon a lug, 71 attached to the outside of the lower door, H, the door G in this position forming an inclined shelf in front of the telephone-box in a suitable position for writing upon, the leg 9 being held in position at a properangle to engage the lug h by means of the lug g, which abuts against the door G when it is let down.

On the inside of one side of the box is the mechanism by which the circuit is made or broken by the opening or closing of the door G, which mechanism will now be described. A metallic button, I, having flanges i and i, is pivoted to the side of the box at The flange '13 bears, at its portion above the pivot, upon a spiral spring, 0', set in the wood, and isnor mally pressed outward, as shownin Figs. 3 and I, so that it will always bear. upon the inside of the door G when the latter is shut, and in this position of the flanges will be flush with the edge of the box.

J is a metallic spring-plate fastened above the button I, and K is a similar plate fastened below said button, the normal position of these plates being such that when one is in contact with the button I the other will not be, the plate J being in contact when the door G is closed and the plate K when the door is opened. Attached to the same side of the box, above and slightly back of the button I, is a pair of spring-plates, L and M, the latter having a bearing on the button I at all times, and the former having a bearing on the latter when the door G is open and free from it when the door is closed, the two positions being shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The passage of the-electric current and the manner of breaking and changing the same will now be described.

The line-wire a enters the box at a and passes at a into the bell-coils, at a out of said coils, at (0 into the generator, at a out of the generator, at a to the plate J, and when the door G is closed passes through said plate and in button I, at a out of said button, and at a out of the box. lVhen the box is closed, this current is complete, the button I being pressed by the door G against the plate J; but when the door G is open the button I and plate J are not in contact and this current is broken. The line-wire branches just inside the box at b, and at b passes into the transmitter, emerging therefrom at b, and passing thence to Z), I), and 6 into the hand-telephone, emerging therefrom at b, and passing by the way of b and Z) to the plate K. hen this plate is in contact with the button I, which will be the case when the door G is open, the telephone and transmitter will be in circuit, the current passing from the plate and button at a? to the line wire a. The wire 0 passes from the bat tery to the point 0, when it enters the transmitter, thence out at c" and to the point 0, being the s1 )ring- )late M. \Vhen the door (4 is open, the circuit will be complete and the ourrent may pass through the plate M and plate L, and thence out at O to the battery again. The closing of the door presses the button I against the plate 31 and pushes it away from the plate L, thus cutting out the battery by breaking the circuit. It will thus be seen that when the door G- is closed the bells and generator are in circuit, ready to sound the signal or call alarm, and the whole device is securely closed up vl'ree from dust and locked, il. desirable. hen the door is opened, however, the bells and generator are thrown out of circuit and the telephone and transmitter into circuit, the battery is set to work, and the door forms a convenient shelf to rest or write upon.

Having thus full described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by l'ietters latent, is-

'1. The combination, in a telephone-box, of

the button 1', provided with contact-point a and pivoted to the side of the box, the spring 0?",tor pressing its upper e1 1d normally outward, the springs .T and K and connections a and I)", the door (i, the springs M, and the conductors e c c, the whole arranged to operate substantially in the manner and for the pun pose specified.

2. The combination, with the box and its door, of the spring-actuated button I and the metallic plates L and M, for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the box and its door, of the metallic plates J, K, L, and M, as and for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUSTUS (l. DAIVIS.

\Vil' l messes:

A..]%. Pnoc'n, A. ll. BAUER.

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